Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said she was thrilled to have a host who “knows who he is, he knows the audience” while CEO Dawn Hudson described Kimmel as “razor sharp, funny and unpredictable.”

ABC, which pays the Academy a reported US$75mil (RM333mil) a year to broadcast the Oscars, struck a new deal in August giving executives more creative input.

“Jimmy is the perfect choice for us. He is deeply rooted in the Hollywood community and gifted at connecting with an audience as the consummate emcee,” said ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey.

Kimmel’s appointment comes unusually late this time around, as the host is usually booked months in advance of the Oscars.

It will end speculation over several other possibilities for presenter, including fellow comedians Ellen DeGeneres and Tina Fey.

The African American comic actor’s second stint presenting was overshadowed by a social media backlash against the lack of racial diversity among the nominees, under the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

Ironically, a group of 25 Academy members of Asian descent, including Oscar-winning film director Ang Lee and Star Trek actor George Takei, subsequently complained about racist jokes at the ceremony.

It featured a section in which Rock introduced children of Asian descent as Academy accountants and an ad-libbed insinuation by actor Sacha Baron Cohen that Asian men were not well-endowed. – AFP Relaxnews